Second person out of the pool

Sorry, but Guert doesn't get to hang around the pool any longer (pun intended).

Six people remain in the pool:

Marcus Fulton (a.k.a., The Columbus Clipper) -- 30 Nov
Phil Cave -- 9 Dec
Mike N. (a.k.a., The No Man) -- 11 Dec
Dwight Sullivan -- 14 Dec
Jason Grover (a.k.a., The Super Muppet of Appellate Advocacy) -- 20 Dec
Kathleen Duignan -- 4 Jan 2007

If CAAF issues its first opinion of the year anytime between Monday, 27 Nov and Monday, 4 Dec, the Columbus Clipper will win. Phil Cave (a.k.a., el Cave) is unlikely to hit the date on the nose, since he chose a Saturday. But if the opinion comes out Tuesday, 5 Dec through Friday, 8 Dec, he'll win. Then comes the No Man, but he will win only if: (a) he hit the bull's-eye with his 11 Dec prediction; or (b) the opinion comes out the following day, Tuesday 12 Dec. If the opinion comes out at any point later that week, Dwight Sullivan will win.

Last year the first opinion of the term was issued on 20 December. But with a smaller court and with the December oral arguments canceled, conditions seem favorable for an earlier opinion this year. We'll see soon.